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Swiss voters reject 50% inheritance tax: final results

Swiss voters reject 50% inheritance tax in a decisive nationwide ballot on Nov. 30, 2025. The 78.3% no vote result left 21.7% in favor, with turnout near 43%, and every canton voting No, according to official results. This switzerland inheritance tax referendum 2025 delivered an emphatic verdict.

All cantons rejected the initiative, so it failed the required cantonal majority in addition to the popular vote. According to available reports, the result was clear and immediate in projections and in the final tallies.

What the initiative proposed and who backed it

The measure was spearheaded by the Young Socialists (JUSO). In substance, the jusos inheritance tax initiative sought a 50% levy on inheritances and gifts only above the chf 50 million threshold, with proceeds earmarked for climate action.

Backers framed it as a way to finance emissions cuts and adaptation without broad-based tax hikes. Coverage noted that only the largest estates would have been affected at the chf 50 million threshold, while the jusos inheritance tax initiative originally included a retroactive element that was later toned down to address criticism.

Why Swiss voters rejected the 50% inheritance tax

Government and business groups warned the plan could drive wealthy residents to leave and erode the tax base. The Federal Council recommended a No vote, and opponents highlighted risks for family-business succession and Switzerland’s attractiveness to capital. Those arguments help explain why Swiss voters reject 50% inheritance tax by such a margin and contributed to the 78.3% no vote result.

Results by cantons and turnout explained

Every canton said No, meaning the proposal failed the ständemehr cantonal majority alongside the popular vote. The final count was 23.0 to 0.0 in the Council of States tally, with turnout around 43%.

In Switzerland’s federal system, national initiatives require both a popular majority and the ständemehr cantonal majority to pass. Because neither threshold was met, the measure fell decisively at both levels.

What the outcome means for tax policy and climate finance

The outcome keeps the current federal framework intact, no new inheritance or gift tax will be introduced. Since revenues were tied to climate programs, that funding route will not proceed after Swiss voters reject 50% inheritance tax.

In the broader European context, the vote underscores how public trust, policy design, and economic competitiveness intersect. If credibility and predictability hold primacy, then proposals concentrating costs on a small, mobile group may struggle to win. Ripple effects: investors may perceive policy continuity in Switzerland, European debates on wealth taxation will watch the Swiss case, and climate finance advocates will likely refine how earmarking is paired with fairness claims.

What’s next

No immediate policy changes follow the referendum. Instead, attention shifts to alternative climate funding ideas at federal and cantonal levels, from budget reallocations to instruments that spread costs more broadly. As debates resume after the switzerland inheritance tax referendum 2025, campaigners will test new approaches while policymakers weigh fiscal stability and competitiveness.